Thanks to screen sharing, you can observe one, 10, even 50 screens in action simultaneously, allowing you to closely monitor your network. And thats your entire network  not just Macs  you can also view and control the screens of any Virtual Network Computing (VNC)-enabled computer, including Windows, Linux and UNIX. When a user needs assistance, you take control of any individual screen and view the remote desktop in full-screen mode.

Remote Desktop widget

If you just want a quick look at one screen and are running Apple Remote Desktop 3 on Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger, launch the Remote Desktop widget from Dashboard. The widget is fully-integrated with the administrative application and will allow you to select a specific system from the list of computers under your control.

Of course, screen sharing works both ways. If you want to demonstrate something to one user or an entire group, you can do so by sharing your own screen. Show them exactly how to accomplish a task by walking through the steps yourself.

Remote Drag and Drop

If the situation requires more than just a demonstration, you can easily transfer files and folders between your computer and a users computer by a simple drag-and-drop (or copy-and-paste). With pinpoint accuracy, you can graphically copy files to a particular location in the Finder, or directly into any application or document window on the remote computer.

System status indicators

System status indicators are perfect for a quick check on all your systems. A summary view gives you insight into the overall health of a system. Detailed views give colour-coded status of CPU, disk and memory usage. Colour indicators change from green to yellow to red when usage levels reach a defined threshold.

Curtain Mode

What if youre doing some fine-tuning but would prefer to keep the work hidden from the outside world? Turn on Curtain Mode and the local users view of the desktop is hidden. You can still view and have full control of the remote systems desktop, but no one else will be able to see whats happening. This feature is perfect for those managing systems that have public displays, such as in museums or kiosks.

Apple Remote Desktop 3 also lets you send text messages to an individual or to all your clients. So those mandatory upgrade announcements will always be seen. And if your clients ever need your attention, they can do the same. For more detailed messages, initiate a private real-time, one-to-one text chat. You can be sure your clients will always get your message.

Virtual Network Computing (VNC)

VNC software makes it possible to view and fully-interact with one computer from any other computer or mobile device anywhere on the internet. VNC software is cross-platform, allowing remote control between different types of computers. For ultimate simplicity, there is even a Java viewer, so that you can remotely control any desktop from within a browser without having to install software.